Hindsight Is Always 2020
by writerghost2000
Summary: A simple undercover assignment is anything but simple.
1. The Devil Is In The Details

Why didn't we just say no?

**THREE DAYS AGO**

The second the Feds walked into the squad room I smelled trouble. Little did I know that Nikki and I were going to be part of that trouble.

They spent a good half hour in Dan's office with the door shut before Dan came out and asked us to come in.

"What do you think this is about?" Nikki whispered to me as we headed in.

"Beats the hell out of me, but whatever it is I don't like it already."

Dan shut the door behind us. "Detectives, this is Agent Zimmerman and Agent Harris. The FBI is asking for our help to catch a serial killer."

"We have reason to believe that the killer has entered the state of Louisiana and would like for you two to do some undercover work in an effort to bring him to justice," Zimmerman said as he smoothed out his tie.

I wanted to puke at the formality of it all and felt somewhat insulted. I couldn't help but feel like they thought they were the big bad FBI and what we were doing here in our city was chasing down people who didn't put money in the meter or maybe stole a pack of cigarettes from a local market. But I held my tongue and swallowed down my sarcasm. Thankfully, Nikki chimed in before I could open my mouth.

"No disrespect, sir, but why us? I mean, why New Orleans and not Baton Rouge or Minden?"

"We're not at liberty to give full details without a complete debriefing," Agent Harris responded as he glanced at his PDA and then tucked it into his jacket.

"Could I have a moment to discuss this with them?" Dan asked.

Zimmerman nodded and the two men stepped outside.

"What's going on here, Dan? Why us?" I asked.

Dan sighed heavily, "There's nothing I can do. They're Federal and they call the shots. They asked for two female detectives and you happen to be it."

"So that's it? You don't know what they want or..."

"I have a general idea but like I said, they're dictating this one."

"Wow, way to go, Dan. Thanks for throwing us to the wolves and keeping us in the dark," I snapped at him.

"They'll pull my badge if I tell you. They don't operate like we do, Nora."

The door opened and Harris poked his head inside. "We need to wrap this up."

"Right. Detectives, the agents will take you to the debriefing."

I felt like a criminal myself. Like I was being led away to God only knows where. The only good thing about it was that I had Nikki by my side.

They loaded us into one of their typical black SUV, complete with tinted windows, and drove us to some remote location. We got out and went into what looked like an old abandoned warehouse.

Inside, there was another man waiting, briefcase in-hand.

"Detectives, this is Agent Munson. He's going to debrief you on the task at hand and take care of all necessary paperwork."

Zimmerman and Harris exited the room and the two of us looked at one another in confusion.

"Which one of you is Delaney?"

"I am," I said as I watched him take out some papers in his briefcase.

"This is yours," he said as he handed me a piece of paper, "and this is yours, Detective Beaumont. This is your sworn statement indicating that whatever is discussed between us stays within these four walls. From this point on, you are to have no contact with your boss, fellow police officers, friends, family or anyone else other than myself. I am your only contact and everything goes through me. I dictate all of your orders and at no time are either of you to do anything other than what I instruct you to do. Is that clear?"

"How are we going to just drop off the face of the Earth for who knows how long and not let our family know?" Nikki asked.

"It will be arranged so that they are aware of an assignment that has come up, but they will not be told anything about what we are discussing today."

My stomach began to tie itself in a knot and I could see that Nikki was feeling the same way.

"If you will sign on the bottom line then I can debrief you on what we're asking you to do. Please keep in mind, detectives that it would be in the best interest of your careers if you comply with what is asked of you today."

"Is that a threat?" I asked.

Nikki grabbed my arm and pulled me closer towards her, "Nora!"

"No threat at all."

"Can we just have a minute to..."

"Like I said, it would be in your best interest..."

"Fine. Fine. Here," I said as I signed the bottom line and shoved the paper in his hand. "Happy now." I turned to Nikki, "Don't feel like you have to do this because I signed it."

Nikki paused for a moment and then signed the paper. "I can't let you do this alone."

"Alright then. In case you haven't figured it out by now, you will both be going undercover, hence the isolation from friends and family. We need you to get close to a man named Victor Genau. He's a known weapons dealer that got out of jail about a year ago and is back in business. Only he's expanded the business to include drugs and rumor has it, nuclear weapons."

"Wait. So where does the serial killer part come in?" Nikki asked.

"That was what everyone else needs to think."

The knot in my stomach began to grow and get tighter.

"Here is Victor's file. It contains his complete history and will tell you everything you need to know about him. There is also a disc included in there with video surveillance footage so you can see how he talks, walks, eats, and breathes. Study it carefully because you'll need to know him inside and out to get close to him and not tip him off."

A man in a dark suit entered the room and Munson made no attempt at an introduction.

"Your ride is here to take you to where you'll be staying. You'll find everything you need in the room - computers, weapons, clothes. I will contact you this evening with further instructions." He handed us a cell phone before walking away.

"I don't like this," I whispered to Nikki.

"Neither do I."


	2. We Can Do This

The mystery man said absolutely nothing the entire ride. Nikki and I weren't much for chatting either, due to the awkward silence that thickened the air in the car.

We stopped on the side of the highway and the silence was broken. "You're getting out here. Walk two miles north down the highway to The Starlight Motel. Check in under the names Jennifer Banks and Megan Thomas."

Both of us climbed out, and the man wasted no time in driving away, leaving a dusty trail behind him.

"Okay, this is fucked up," I said as we began our walk in the blazing sun.

"It's okay. Let's just do what they say and it'll be over. We can do this."

"God. You're always the optimist, aren't you?"

"Someone's gutta be," she said with a smile.

We finally reached the motel and checked in. I ended up being Jennifer while Nikki took Megan because she always liked the name. I think she was starting to like this undercover bullshit.

When we opened the door to our room we nearly gagged from the stench that bellowed out. The room was filthy and smelled like a combination of death, body odor and piss. "Maybe we should have taken our chances and just said no to this. Who wants to be a cop anyway?"

"The air conditioner better work," Nikki said as she turned it on and put her hands in front of it. "Ugh. Barely. This is gonna suck."

"Humph. Not so optimistic now, are you?" I looked around the room and grimaced. "We need to find some place to sterilize these sheets. There is no way in hell I'm sleeping on those."

Nikki started looking around the room, in the closet, in the drawers. After tapping on the bottom of a dresser drawer, she fiddled with it and produced a laptop from inside a secret compartment. "Ah ha."

"They can hide all the hi-tech gadgets in the world in here and I'll still feel weird about all this."

It was almost as if she didn't even hear me because she continued scouring the room like a child on Easter morning hunting for Easter eggs.

I sat at the small wooden table and opened up Victor's file. Inside, there were several 8x10's of his face, a few mug shots, surveillance photos and anything else you could think of. It was quite thick so they'd either been watching him for quite some time or he was a very bad boy. My guess was the latter.

"Found a couple of pistols in the door jam of the bathroom. I've got dibs on the shiny silver one," Nikki said with a smile as she sat down next to me.

Nikki's phone rang and she quickly answered it. "Hello?....Yes, we're here.......Okay.......Okay......Tonight at Club Tequila. Got it." The phone disconnected and Nikki looked at it strangely. "The man has no manners. He just hung up on me."

"Doesn't surprise me. What'd he say?"

"He said we're supposed to go to this nightclub called Club Tequila at 9pm. Victor is going to be there and we have to find a way to catch his attention and get introduced to him." Nikki glanced at her watch, "We've got a few hours to get ready. Clothes are under the bed."

I knelt down and with a held breath and looked under the bed. I honestly wasn't sure what the hell I'd find under there, but I ended up finding a suitcase. Dragging it out, I popped it open and found a bunch of clothes. We picked through it and found two slinky black dresses. "These will do." I held one up against my chest.

"Honey, that's already got MY full attention so if that doesn't get his attention then there's something wrong with the man." Nikki smiled and licked her lips as she kept eyeing me up and down. "Not sure I want his eyes on you, now that I think of it."

I tossed her dress at her, "Focus, will you!"

Nikki smirked at me as she took the dress and started getting dressed.

When we were both ready, we took a cab to the club. It wasn't anything special. Just looked like a bunch of meatheads mixed with bimbos, if you ask me.

We went inside and sat at a small table in the back so we could observe the room.

"Can I get you ladies anything?" a tall, top-heavy waitress asked.

"Long Island Iced-Tea for me," Nikki said.

"I'll just take whatever beer you have on tap."

"Great. I'll be right back with your drinks." The waitress walked away and I noticed that the only reason she kept from falling flat on her face was because of the enormous ass she had anchoring her down.

"Beer?" Nikki questioned.

"What? A girl can't just have a beer?"

"We're supposed to be getting his attention. His bio said that he looks for high class women who enjoy the finer things in life."

"Beer is one of my finer things in life, so what."

The waitress returned and set our drinks down. "Let me know if you need anything else." She winked at me and walked away.

"Not only do you get a beer but now the waitress is hitting on you?"

I leaned in closer to Nikki because I didn't want to yell. "Nik. What's your problem?"

Nikki took a deep breath and blew it out, rolling her shoulders. "Sorry. I'm just nervous."

Before I could answer her, we both focused our attention towards the entrance. Victor had just arrived.

Nikki scooted over closer towards me and began caressing my cheek with her fingers and giggling like a little girl.

I smiled and looked over towards Victor who picked us up on his radar and started walking in our direction.

"Here he comes," I mumbled in a whisper.

She responded by beginning to nibble on my earlobe. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, trying hard to remember that this was work and not play. Opening my eyes, I realized we were no longer alone.

"Hello," Victor said as he motioned to his two bodyguards to take a hike.

"Hi," I said, trying not to let my voice crack as Nikki's hand came to rest on my thigh under the table.

"Mind if I join you two?"

Nikki smiled at him, "Not at all."

Victor took a seat next to me and wasted no time in putting his arm around me. "I've enjoyed watching the both of you, however brief it was. Perhaps you could continue later for me?"

"Maybe," I said.

"Maybe?" he asked as I felt his hand rubbing my back.

"We're actually not here to put on a show for anyone. We were blowing off a little steam," Nikki explained.

"Oh. How so?"

"Jennifer and I have been a little stressed out so we came out here to get away and unwind a bit."

"I see," he said as he rubbed my arm. "So what's got you lovely ladies all stressed out? Maybe there's something I can do to help." Now his hand slid to my inner thigh. This was getting a little too intimate for my taste.

"Work," I said. "Well, the lack thereof. But, it's not a big deal. We've managed before and we'll manage again, right, Megan?"

"We always do." Nikki raised her drink and took a sip.

"What type of work are you in?"

"It varies," I answered.

"Oh?" He wore a look of intrigue on his face.

I honestly had no idea where I was going with what I'd just said. It just kinda came out.

"We're sort of like assistants," Nikki said, bailing me out.

"What type of business do you assist in?"

Nikki wore a sly smile. "It varies."

Victor smiled and nodded. "I get what you mean. Listen, I might be able to offer you two a temporary position on my team if you'd like, something to tide you over until you find something else. Or maybe the three of us have unbelievable chemistry together and you come on permanently."

"I don't know," I said. And I REALLY didn't know about this. This was far too easy and I didn't want us to appear too eager and risk blowing our cover.

"Tell you what, think about it," he motioned to one of his bodyguards to come over, "T.J. will tell you where to find me. I have to run but it was a pleasure chatting with you both." Leaning in, he kissed us both on the cheek before stepping away.

T.J. handed Nikki a card with a phone number on it. "Call this number and someone will make arrangements for you to meet with him."

"We don't even know his name. What's his name?" I asked.

T.J. wasn't giving up any information and it was as if I'd never asked the question because he completely ignored me. "It's highly recommended that you do not give this phone number out to anyone." He opened his jacket enough for us to peek in at the shiny silver gun tucked in his side.

"Got it," Nikki said as she folded the card and tucked it between her breasts, smiling at him as he walked away.

"That was far too easy," I whispered to Nikki as we continued what we'd started before Victor arrived.

Nikki's warm breath blew past my ear, "Maybe we're just that good, darlin'."

A shiver ran down my spine as she started kissing my neck. "That could very well be." I looked over and watched as Victor went into a private room with his bodyguards. "You think we should try and see what's going in that room over there?"

Nikki casually looked over as she nibbled on my earlobe. "Let's not rush things."

I never thought I could switch to cop-mode so easily, but I did. The passion I was feeling was quickly extinguished and I was all business. "I have an idea," I said as I stood up. "Stay here and keep an eye on that room."

"Where are you going?"

"To do a little spying. If anyone comes out of that room, come find me. Otherwise, stay here."

Nikki grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. "Are you freaking crazy? If he catches you spying on him then we blow this whole thing. Munson told us not to do anything unless…"

"I'm just going to the ladies room. That's all."

"Nora," Nikki whispered in a low growl.

"I'll be right back."

And off I went, leaving Nikki fuming behind me. I probably shouldn't have chosen to do this, but part of me wanted to speed things up and get this case over with. I'm not one for taking orders much less from some guy I don't even know. And a Fed? Please.

I walked towards the room that Victor was in and I could see him sitting down with two men. There was food on the table and they were laughing and joking around as they began to eat.

I stood beside the room, pretending to fumble through my purse as I listened to them yucking it up. But I was too far away to hear anything of value.

Looking across the room, I saw Nikki motioning for me to get back over to the table so I figured someone was coming.

Sure enough, just as I started walking back, I ran right into T.J. He towered over me like a tall brick building. "Sorry," I said.

"Can I help you?" he asked me, blocking my path.

"No, I was just coming back from the bathroom and I'm trying to find my keys in my purse so I…"

"The bathrooms are over there," he said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"I know, I started walking this way, so focused on my keys that I kept walking. I just realized I walked too far and I ran into you. Plus, I think I've had a bit too much to drink."

Nikki came over and took my arm, "Come on, sweetheart. I think it's time to go so you can go home and sober up."

We didn't wait for an answer we just got the hell out of there.


	3. Into The Lion's Den

The next morning, we awoke to the sound of the cell phone ringing. Glancing at the clock, it was barely 9am.

"Hello?" I said as I grabbed it off the nightstand.

It was Munson.

"Yeah….how did you….okay. All right! Look, we've….no. You are. We need more time." I listened to Munson bitching me out and then he simply hung up on me. I tossed the phone on the floor and sighed heavily.

"What happened?" Nikki asked as she moved closer towards me.

"He's such a jerk. Apparently he had an undercover agent there at the club last night, maybe even more than that for all we know. They told him that we almost blew it."

"Well, you did kind of take a risk last night in trying to get near that room."

"Whose side are you on?" I asked as my brow creased on command.

"Nora, come on. You know the answer to that. Continue."

"So then he asked me who was in charge and all this other bullshit. He wanted to know if we'd arranged another meeting with him and I tried to tell him we need more time and he said we don't have time. Then he blew a gasket and said that maybe he made a mistake involving us on this case, but then said we had one more chance before he pulled us. We have until noon."

"No pressure," Nikki said as she rolled onto her back.

"Nik. What if we just say screw it and let him pull us?"

"We can't do that!"

"Why not? I don't like where this is going. I hate being a puppet in all of this. We should have just said no from the start."

Nikki sat up and looked at me, "And risk our careers? You heard what he said about it being in our best interest to do this."

"It's a freakin' threat. If that doesn't spell trouble then I sure as hell don't know what does." I paused for a moment and got right to the point. "I don't want anything to happen to you," I said as I took her hand. "I don't know what I'd do if…"

"Shhhh, nothing's going to happen to either one of us. We're going to play this out and play it smart." She kissed the back of my hand.

"I dunno."

Taking me into her arms, she melted around me. "We'll be fine."

I kissed the top of her head. "So do you want to make the call or should I?"

"I think you've had enough excitement to last you for a bit, so I'll give him a call." Nikki moved away from me and leaned over the side of the bed to get the phone from the floor. She grabbed the card from the table and began dialing. She waited and waited for someone to answer. "Hello? This is Megan, I'd like to speak to the gentleman I met at Club Tequilla last night. Okay….yes…..Jennifer….he mentioned some work. Okay. See you then. Bye."

My heart was stuck in my throat. "What'd he say?"

"Someone will pick us up at the Pig 'N Whistle Diner at 10am so we better get a move on."

_ _ _ _ _

We both got ready and then took a cab to the diner.

Just as my watch read 10am, a black limo pulled up. "I'll say one thing for him, he's punctual."

We climbed in and heard the click of the doors locking, so much for escaping if we needed to.

The windows were tinted a shade of what I'd call pitch black so there was no way to tell where we were going. We just had to sit back and enjoy the ride. Nikki looked at me at one point and motioned for me not to say anything in fear the car was bugged.

After about ten minutes, we came to a stop and the engine turned off. A sick feeling settled itself into the pit of my stomach as the door opened and we climbed out. In a split second we were thrown against the car and frisked.

Shit.

I soon found the barrel of my own gun shoved up under my chin as one of Victor's goons found my secret stash.

"What the fuck are you doing with a gun?" he asked as he dug it into my skin.

"A girl can't be too careful. There are a lot of bad men out there." God. I'm such a wiseass.

That cost me a punch in the gut, courtesy of his large beefy fist.

I dropped to my knees and saw my bullets being emptied onto the pavement, my gun now empty and tossed at me like a toy.

Glancing up, I could see the look of horror on Nikki's face as she looked on. She played her part well by not saying a word and making things worse. Wish I could find it within me to do the same and just behave for once.

"Get up," the oaf said to me.

I tucked my gun behind my back and stood up, coughing a few more times and holding onto my aching side.

"Come with me," he instructed us. "I'm keeping my eye on you, blondie."

Nikki put her arm around me as we followed him. She didn't say anything and I was glad she didn't because I didn't want to hear it.

We got inside and Victor was waiting for us in what looked like his library. "Ladies. Welcome. Come sit down."

Nikki and I sat down on the massive brown leather sofa as the meathead whispered in Victor's ear. Victor nodded and then motioned for him to leave the room.

"So," he said as he rubbed his hands together and stood in front of me. "We're not off to a good start, are we?"

I felt Nikki's body tense beside me.

"I always carry that gun. I've dealt with some nasty people and would have lost my life one night if it wasn't for that gun. I mean no disrespect to you by bringing it here."

Victor chewed on his lip a bit as he nodded at me. "So lets see it."

"The gun?"

"The scar from your brush with death."

I wasn't prepared for show-and-tell.

"Oh, come on. Don't be shy. I'm sure your lover here has already seen it a thousand times so it's my turn. Lemme see it." He moved closer to me, crossing his arms over his chest.

My heart began hammering away in my chest and I thought for sure it was going to explode.


	4. Lies

I pulled my shirt collar down to show him a scar on my left shoulder. Yeah I'd gotten shot before, 'bout two years ago, but the reality was that it was far from life threatening.

"That little ol' thing?"

Now I needed to do some heavy duty lying. "The bullet didn't exit out my back. Instead, it was up against my heart. I lost more than half of my blood supply. All thanks to a guy that tried to rip me off."

He reached out towards me, tracing the scar with his finger and doing that nodding again. "Ya know. I like you. You've got big balls."

"Like the AC/DC song says." I tried to lighten the mood and get him away from me because he makes me dry heave.

Victor turned towards Nikki and part of me wanted to lunge towards him and choke him to death. "What about you? You don't have much to say. I haven't known you two long but I can tell you wear the pants in the bedroom and she wears them at work."

"I'll just say that Jennifer is quite capable of handling herself."

"That she is." He finally backed off and sat across from us in a leather chair. "So. Let's just be honest, shall we. What kind of work are you two looking for? Prostitution? Drugs? Weapons?"

"Definitely not prostitution, I can tell you that. Megan and I have worked mostly with weapons. Weapons that find a way of being transparent, if you know what I mean."

Victor smiled as he lit a cigar. "I can appreciate that. So if I were looking for two beautiful women to help me persuade new clients into doing business, how could I tell if I could trust them or not?"

"Trust is trust," Nikki said. "You can't tell someone they can trust you, you have to just take a chance."

"Okay. I got'cha." Victor paused for a few moments, thinking about whether we were going to be working beside him or shipped off somewhere to have a bullet put in both our heads.

His bodyguard came into the room to tell him he had a phone call that was urgent.

"Ladies, if you'll excuse me for a moment while I take this call. Feel free to help yourself to a cigar or to something at the bar."

When the doors shut behind him, both of us let out a sigh of relief, however temporary.

"I can't believe you brought your fucking gun," Nikki whispered to me.

"I can't believe you didn't," I hissed back.

"And then the bit about almost dying. What if you didn't have a scar to show?"

"I would've thought of something else."

Both of us hushed as Victor came back into the room, looking somewhat agitated. "Sorry, just a client who is a bit difficult. Maybe you two would be able to help me with him this evening?"

"What do you need us to do?" I asked.

"I have a meeting at an old warehouse not far from here. Off of Hendricks Road. If you could loosen him up a bit, perhaps?"

"We could do that," Nikki said, oozing with confidence. Hell, she even had me fooled.

"Excellent. I'll have someone pick you up. Where are you staying?"

"The Starlight Motel"

Victor's face winced. "That flea bag?"

"We're a little short on funds."

"Well, then we need to get down to business so you can stay at the finer hotels and not have to worry about getting an STD from the bed sheets."

"I'll have Mikey take you back. Be ready by 10pm."

"Thanks, ummm? We don't…know your name."

"Victor."

"Thanks, Victor." Nikki winked at him for good measure.

"My pleasure. Oh and ladies…don't prove me wrong." He wagged a finger at us and smiled.

"We won't."

That funny feeling crept back into my stomach as we were escorted out of his house and back to the limo. This still felt wrong. Very wrong.

- - - -

Later that night, the phone rang and Nikki grabbed it. "Hello? Yes. Oh…okay. No, that's fine. Tomorrow then. Okay. Good night."

"What's tomorrow?"

"T.J. said Victor won't need us tonight, change of plans." Nikki shrugged on her brown leather jacket.

"So then why are you getting ready to go out?"

"Because we're going anyway."

"What! Are you nuts?"

"Something's going down. We need to find out what it is. Come on, get a move on."

I rolled my eyes and followed her out the door.

We had a cab drop us off up the road from the warehouse and then walked the rest of the way.

As quietly as possible, we stalked up to the building and looked for a way inside.

Luckily, we found a window propped open and climbed inside.

"I want to know what type of weapons we're talking about," Nikki whispered.

"We're not even supposed to be here," I hissed in a whisper.

"How else are we going to find out who he's dealing with and what he's dealing?"

"If he catches us we're as good as dead."

"He won't. We're just going to get what we need and then go. Then we can report it back to Munson and let him deal with it from there." Nikki motioned towards the wooden crates that lined the side of the room. Cautiously and quietly, we made our way over to them and crouched down in the shadows.

We didn't have to wait long until Victor walked into the room, setting a briefcase down on some cardboard boxes in the center of the room. Then another man soon entered. They shook hands, exchanging pleasantries.

"You have the cash, my friend?"

The man handed him a duffle bag, "I think you'll find everything you asked for in here."

Victor took the duffle bag and unzipped it, pulling out a handful of cash. "Excellent." He tossed the duffle bag onto the floor and opened up his briefcase, taking out a small manila envelope. "These are all the necessary papers needed for import. I've made a few phone calls and they will be expecting these. You should be able to get them into the country without a problem. I trust that my portion of your shipment will be delivered to me soon after it's arrival into the United States."

"What portion? We never discussed a cut of my inventory."

"We're discussing it right now," Victor said as he unbuttoned the buttons on his jacket.

"I can't authorize anything like that, I'd have to..."

"So you're just a messenger? A lousy middle-man?"

As if on cue, three men in black suits entered the room and stood behind Victor. But things took a turn when three men entered the room and stood behind the man he was dealing with.

"I'm not just a middle-man, Victor."

"Well, you might not be but you're certainly pretty fucking stupid."

"Why? Because I'm not going to let you push me around?"

Two more men came into the room and stood behind Victor, guns in-hand.

"Shit," I swore quietly. "I think this is about to get ugly."

"Maybe we better..." Nikki couldn't even get the words out when the room ignited with the sound of gunfire.

Bullets bounced off steel beams, bore holes into the wood floor, splintered the wood on some of the nearby crates and whizzed past us both. We both ducked and covered, trying to shield our eyes from the wood and debris that flew all around us.

Nikki began crawling towards the window where we snuck in and I followed behind her. But just as she disappeared through the window, tumbling onto the ground outside, a stray bullet dug its way into my side. I stifled a yelp and dove out the window, landing on top of her. "Oomph," I gasped as the impact jarred my wound.

Nikki got to her feet, unaware that I was hurt, and grabbed my hand, "We have to get out of here before Victor or his men find us or we're totally screwed."

Now wasn't the time to announce that I was shot because it would only slow us down. Luckily, she didn't notice the wetness on my hand she was holding was blood and not rain. It was pouring. I don't think I've ever seen that much rain fall from the sky.

We ran the length of the building and headed for the wooded area beside it. It was pitch black and really hard to see but we just kept heading south as quickly as possible.

After about fifteen minutes, we made it to the edge of the woods and the motel was probably another ten from there, but I was exhausted. "Hold on," I said as I bent over, putting a hand over my wound and the other on my knee as I tried to catch my breath.

"We're almost there. Just....Nora?"

I looked up and saw her wide-eyed look as she looked at the blood on her hand and then at me. "Jesus! Why didn't you say something?" she hissed at me as she knelt next to me and examined the wound, grimacing at the sight. "Come on, I'll help you," she said as she stood up and put my arm around her, taking all of my weight as we walked back to the motel. A crack of lightning lit up the night sky for a moment and both of us began to shiver.


	5. Nora's In Trouble

Ten minutes felt like a lifetime as Nikki opened the door to our room and immediately brought me over to the bed. "Here, sit down. I'll get a towel." She eased me down and ran off to the bathroom.

I was covered in a mix of sweat, rain and blood and felt soaked to the bone with all of it. I kept gasping as I tried not to cry and tried to manage the pain that was searing through my side. I almost felt like I was hyperventilating.

Nikki ran back to me and placed the towel over my wound, biting back tears of her own. "I'm sorry," her voice cracked as she placed her hand over mine to keep pressure on it.

I snuffed and kept trying to keep my breathing under control, "S-okay." I bit my bottom lip and clenched my eyes shut as a wave of pain nearly knocked me unconscious. I steeled myself against it and couldn't help but whimper in pain. "We never should have done this, Nik."

She looked at me for a moment, her brown eyes glistening with tears. "Shit," she swore under her breath before grabbing her cell phone and frantically dialing. "Munson, we have a problem. Nora's been shot." She listened to what he was saying and looked at me. "Okay. Tell him to hurry." She hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. "A doctor is coming. Hold on, okay, sweetheart?" She ran her hand along the side of my cheek.

"I can't let you continue this without me," I grunted out. It was taking every ounce of strength within me to keep from passing out because I knew that would scare her if I did.

"Don't think about that right now." She began to pace back and forth, constantly checking out the window to see if the doctor was coming.

"Munson will throw you back in there with...without me. Promise me you won't do it." I couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

She knelt down in front of me, "I promise."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Nikki flew to it and ushered him inside.

"How many?" he asked as he put a black bag down and slid on a pair of latex gloves, getting right down to it.

"One," Nikki said as she trailed behind him.

"Still in her?"

"Uh huh," I mumbled groggily as I clutched the blood-soaked towel. "I'm...I'm gonna pass out any second now."

Nikki knelt down in front of me, cupping my face in her bloodstained hands, "Nora, honey. Don't you even think about leaving me, you hear me?"

"I wouldn't dare." I managed a small smile but the pain made it feel like a lie. The last thing I felt was a sharp prick to my left arm and then my eyes rolled up in my head.

- - - -

When I opened my eyes, I immediately felt warmth on my right hand. Turning my head, I noticed it was because it was nestled inside Nikki's. She was fast asleep beside me.

I made an ill attempt at getting up but the sudden burst of pain sent me back down. I removed my hand from hers and placed it over my wounded left side. Removing my hand woke Nikki up.

"You okay?" she asked, her chocolate brown eyes dripping with concern.

"Yeah. How long have I been out? What happened last night?"

"Hold up. Slow down with all the questions. You've been asleep for about twelve hours. The doctor pulled out a good-sized slug out of you, cracked one of your ribs. You need to take it easy for at least a few days. He gave me some painkillers for you." She shook the bottle and placed it on the nightstand.

"I don't want them. I can't lay here for a few days, Nik. I'm not letting you go finish this alone." I made another attempt at sitting up, and this time I was successful. It hurt like hell, though.

"And what do you expect to do? Go see him looking like death warmed over?"

Nearly doubled over, I held onto my side. "We're supposed to meet him, aren't we? Is that tonight or last night?" I squeezed the bridge of my nose. My mind was in a fog, both from the medication and the pain.

"You've really lost your mind, haven't you? Nora, let me take care of this."

"No! We started this and we're going to finish it." I got up from the bed, walking as far as the dresser before needing to take a rest.

"You can't even walk. Stop being so damn stubborn."

"What time is it?"

Nikki shut her eyes and paused. "It's a little after four in the afternoon."

As if on cue, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Nikki mouthed to me that it was T.J. "Yes. It might just be me, Jen's not feeling so well."

I shook my head and waved a finger at her.

"Okay." She hung up the phone and tossed it in her bag. "A car is coming at 5:30. YOU are staying put. I shouldn't be gone more than a few hours."

"No. No. No. Just help me get dressed and shut up about it." I went into the bathroom and waited for her to follow. I really was in no shape to be doing this. I felt like shit. But letting Nikki go out there alone with that scumbag was just out of the question.


	6. Pretending

We arrived at Victor's house, still not knowing exactly where it was. We walked in and he had the dining room set up like a romantic dinner, not a business meeting.

"Jennifer. Megan. Please, come sit," Victor said as he pulled out a chair for each of us.

I gingerly sat down, biting my bottom lip to keep from grunting in pain. Under the table, I could feel Nikki's hand pat my thigh and then she looked at me as if to silently ask if I was okay. I nodded but it was far from the truth.

"Let's first raise a toast to new friends and new business." Victor raised his champagne glass and clanged it against ours.

"I have to say that we're both really looking forward to working for you," Nikki said as she sipped her drink.

"Not FOR me, WITH me. I think the two of you will be great assets to my team. You're both very beautiful and my clients can definitely be persuaded by beautiful women." Victor looked at me as he put down his drink. "Jennifer, are you alright, my dear? You look a little pale."

I smiled slightly, "I'm fine. Just not feeling well today. Food poisoning, I think."

He stood up and extended his hand towards me. "Dance with me. Just one quick dance before our meal comes."

_"Fuck,"_ I swore to myself. "Can I take a rain check?"

"Please, I insist. Holding you in my arms will soothe you, I guarantee."

I looked at Nikki as I stood up and she had that deer in headlights look.

He took my hand and I thought I might throw up on his shoes as a wave of nausea washed over me as I stood up. But I managed to keep it together and we began to dance. Each movement, however slight, caused my jaw to continue to tighten.

"You're absolutely gorgeous, you know that," he said as he nuzzled my neck.

Now I really wanted to throw up. "Thank you," was all I could say in response.

We danced for a few moments and then he threw me a curve ball and spun me, wrapping me in his arms and kissing me. I gasped and he soon broke our lip lock. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," he said as he wiped his bottom lip with his thumb.

I smiled quickly and then returned to the table.

Nikki stood up, "Would you excuse us for a moment while we freshen up before dinner?"

"Not at all. I'll make sure dinner is here by the time you return."

I steeled myself against the radiating pain in my side as we walked to the bathroom. I even had to lean against Nikki for support.

Shutting the door behind us, Nikki immediate went for my wound. "You're bleeding. Only a little but it's still bleeding."

I took a deep breath, as deep as I could and blew it out slowly. "I get the impression that he has no intention of talking business tonight, Nik."

"We need to get you back to the motel. We'll have to deal with this later. You're far more important right now."

"Munson will have our heads if we don't get this done!"

"We're going back. That's it. Take my sweater and just keep it around you so he doesn't see the blood." She opened the door and I had no chance to argue.

Walking back to the dining room, the butler had just finished serving our dinner.

"Victor, I'm sorry. We're going to have to do this another time. Nora's not feeling well at all. I should probably take her back so she can rest."

Victor stood up and flattened out his tie. "By all means, rest and be well. In fact, I'll ride back with you to make sure you are okay."

"That's kind of you, but it's okay. We don't want to put you out of your way. You've done enough by allowing us to come here and…"

"It's no bother. Come. Let's get her home."

Great. This couldn't be going any better.

We arrived at the motel and I headed straight for the bathroom to change and re-dress my wound. I hated leaving Nikki alone out there with him but I had no choice.

When I came out, Victor had one arm around her waist and the other hand was stroking the side of her face. I wanted to kill him right then and there.

I sat down on the bed, still holding my midsection. Looking at them disgusted me.

"Sorry, Victor. Will you excuse me for a moment." Nikki grabbed her purse off the bed and went into the bathroom.

Victor came over, sitting on the bed and patting the edge. His look and gestures meant business and I knew there would be no way I could weasel out of this. I just hoped Nikki's cell could get reception in the motel's bathroom.

I sat on the far end of the bed, drawing a laugh from Victor. "Ah fine, we have been playing so many games the last two days, why not one more." He began scooting toward me along the bed.

Games? What did he mean by that? I mean his intentions for tonight had been loud and clear earlier over dinner, it seemed the Feds research was right on about liking a bit of girl on girl as a pre-show. We were both still trying to find a way out of this.

Learning the buyer had been killed that night in the warehouse told us both the deal was blown and whatever the Feds hoped our presence would do was a moot point now. Or considering what Victor wanted, we both had agreed, finally, that this was as far as we were going. Actually, Nikki had been a bit reluctant, wanting to take this even farther, but I disagreed.

As I inched further away from Victor, I thought about the conversation earlier and I swear Nikki was getting off on this little Fed case. She always did volunteer for the undercover stuff. I really need to work on my gruff, you better not raise your hand girlfriend look more. If I have to suffer through another one of these cases…

All thought stopped as I teetered on the bed's edge, my thoughts having left me overcompensating the distance left. Victor was fast, faster than my klutziness as he was there, beside me, arm wrapped around me, pulling. Damn, he's strong, real strong. Holding me tight, real tight. What the….

"Now then detective Banks or whatever your name is." He must have felt me tense as he continued. "Oh, Munson and I have been playing games for three years now. I must admit, this is the first time he's done this, bring in non-feds. And the first time he's played on my weakness. I do so love the ladies, and love the ladies making love to each other."

His fingers suddenly were running over my body and I was about to fight back, thinking he was going to sexually assault me, when it turned out he was not after that at all. His fingers found the bandages, pulling at them, even as I tried to struggle, but already my wound was protesting. I think I saw some pink on the bandages, but that thought was quickly gone as all I could focus on was his fingers digging directly into the raw gunshot wound.

I never knew I could scream like that.

He laughed at my pain. "What's the matter? Does that hurt?" he asked as he squeezed my wound harder. "Now where on Earth would a pretty little lady like you get a bullet in the gut like that? Huh?"

I pulled at his wrist to get him to let go, but he was too strong.

Before I could make an effort to get away, I found myself thrown to the ground, his foot connecting with my ribs. "Who are you?" he asked as he kicked my wound and held his foot down on it.

"J...Jen...Jennifer Banks," I mumbled through gritted teeth. I could feel my blood soaking my shirt and the carpet below me.

"Bullshit!" he yelled as he kicked me again, breaking the rib that was already cracked.

"Freeze!" Nikki's voice yelled from the other side of the room. "Don't you fucking move."

Victor had his back to Nikki and I could see a gun tucked in the front of his pants.

I was struggling to breathe and the pain brought tears to my eyes. I knew this wasn't going to end well for any of us in this room.

"Put your hands up slowly where I can see them," Nikki instructed him.

I rolled my head to the side and saw her eyes darting back and forth between me and Victor.

Victor laughed as he put his hands up, licking his lips as he wore a sarcastic grin on his face. "Neither one of you are getting out of here alive, you know that."

"Shut up and get on your knees!" Nikki began walking slowly towards him, her gun aimed towards his head.

I tried shaking my head to warn her that he had a gun and to make her stop approaching, but she misread my intentions. "No. Don't," I said to her, but it was barely a whisper.

It only took a split second for Victor to grab me and place me in front of him like a human shield, his gun already jammed up under my chin. "I suggest you toss your gun over to me unless you want your girlfriend's brains splattered all over this room."

Now I really couldn't breathe, the way he was holding onto me.

Nikki didn't hesitate. She threw the gun onto the bed beside Victor. "I'm sorry," she mouthed to me as her eyes stared into mine.

"Now then, toss your phone on the bed as well," he ordered her, squeezing me harder. I struggled a bit, the pain consuming my thoughts and blotting out the rest of the world for a few moments. A whimper escaped from me and I closed my eyes.

The next time I checked back in, there were hands on me and I know I flinched, but then my nerves settled as my senses fed me the fact the hands were soft, touches gentle… Nikki. She had knelt beside me. I turned a little and noted Victor a few paces back, gun on us as he was looking over the phone.

"Are you ok?" I whispered trying to get a handle on the pain. I had to be ready. I knew things were going to get ugly very soon and very fast. Damn how I wished I had a few of those painkillers in me now, just to take the edge off.

"Worry about yourself. I'll let you pamper me later," she said with a slight smile.

I had to smile at her light reply. She always could say just the right thing.

"I assume this last call is the cavalry." Victor threw the phone on the bed and stalked towards us. "I should just kill you both and be done with it." He pointed the gun at Nikki. "You, pantyhose off, now."

I felt Nikki tense as I reached out protectively, putting an arm around her.

Victor's laugh threw us both. "No, no time for that now… a shame really, but I need insurance. Since I have this thing for blondes who can't fight back, you are going for a ride." He pointed the gun at me. "But that means I need to leave little butterfly here behind, and I do not like to let things fly about freely."

Nikki's sharp gasp broke in, although my eyes never wavered from Victor's face.

"Off now or I go with the shooting plan!" His voice was suddenly steely sharp, the laugh gone.

Nikki stood, defiant and took off what had been requested, throwing it on the bed. If the situation were not so tense, I would have been in heaven considering my vantage point and what I could just see from where I was laying.

"Now then. I need to tie you up. But if I lay the gun down…I do not have time for heroes. So let's just clip the butterfly's wings, shall we?" That grating laugh was back. Oh loathed that sound. He bound Nikki's hands behind her back and all I could do was watch helplessly.

"They say lovers share everything, how about matching scars."

It must have been the broken rib or perhaps the blood loss, but whatever it was it took me a minute too long to understand what Victor's words meant.

I was just trying to lift my shoulder off the carpet when the gun fired.

Nikki went down and I could see the bloom of crimson beginning to form just above her bicep, but I didn't have time to say a word before Victor snatched me up and began dragging me out of the room.

I wanted to call out her name. Nikki. Not Megan. But I couldn't.


	7. Alone

I woke up and the world slowly came back to me as I took in my surroundings.

I was alone, from what I could tell, in what looked like a trailer or storage container. A few small beams of light came through vents in the ceiling but it was still dark, and extremely hot.

My hands were cuffed behind my back and linked through the spindles of the back of the wooden chair I was sitting in.

After figuring out what was going on around me, I began to take stock of my injuries.

My shirt was covered in blood from my gunshot wound, my broken rib sent a lance of pain through my body with each breath I took and then I realized that the left side of my face was throbbing. I must have hit my head or maybe he used me as a punching bag, but I don't remember.

Shit.

I don't remember.

Did I talk? Did I give myself up? Or worse, did I give Nikki up? Did he inject me with anything to make me talk?

Panic set in and I started pulling on my bonds in an effort to break free. All I could think of was Nikki and the last image I had of her, falling to the floor after being shot. I tried so hard not to cry but a few tears escaped. I was in pain, tired, defeated…and I began to wonder if I'd ever see her again.

A good ten minutes passed as my thoughts raced through my head.

I inspected the chair to see where exactly I was attached. Then I had the bright idea of finding a way to break the chair so that I could get the hell out of here, wherever here was.

I might not be bleeding right now but I figure I will be once I attempt to do this. I've lost a lot of blood already and can't afford to lose much more, so this has to work or I'm as good as dead.

"Oh, Nikki. Where are you when I need you?" I mumbled to myself.

Mustering up all the strength I have, I took a deep breath and stand up with the chair. I bite my bottom lip against the pain and proceed to smash the chair against the side of the wall. Each hit sends a vibration that jars my wounds and makes me grunt each time. But I'm determined so I keep hitting it.

I feel fresh blood begin to ooze down my side, reminding me that I'm running out of time. But one more hit and the chair splinters apart, freeing me.

Sinking to the floor, I close my eyes and lean my head back as I manage the pain. Then I start to cry.

I'm so tired but I know if I lie down I'm not going to be able to get back up.

I scoot over towards one of the beams of light so that I can take a good look at the damage. My stomach hitches as I realize the wound is not only bleeding it's infected.

Great.

I move back against the side of the container and take a moment to rest and get my head straight before attempting to figure a way out.

Given all the noise I made in breaking the chair, I'm assuming I'm very much alone since no one's come busting in to see what all the commotion was.

That's good and bad. Good because I know I can't fight anyone off in my condition. Bad because I'm alone and God only knows where.

I somehow manage to get to my feet and stumble towards the front of the container where there's a big metal door. I put my hand on the handle and brace myself as I yank on the door to open it. Much to my surprise, it opens!

A blast of hot, humid air blows in along with a warm ray of sunlight. I shade my eyes and look out. I'm in the middle of Goddamn nowhere.

Sitting down on the edge of the container, I look out miles and miles of land. No road, no nothing. Just grass, trees, small bushes and…nothing.

Figuring it best to stay in the shade, I slide back inside and shut the door a bit to shade me from the sun.

It's got to be over 100 degrees in here, even in the shade. So I'll either bake to death or bleed to death. I look at my wound again because I have to do something. It's nasty shades of red and purple. It's torn open wider, just my luck.

I take off my shirt and try to pack the wound with it, pressing as hard as I can and causing me to cry out. For a moment I'm glad I'm alone.

Without even realizing it's going to happen, I pass out.


	8. Nikki?

The first thing I realize when I come to is the cool breeze blowing on my face. I'm lying on my uninjured side, facing the door and allowing the night air to comfort me.

I can barely keep my eyes open because my energy level is next to zero, and I begin to shiver as another breeze blows in.

I lift my cuffed hands up to my face and it's on fire, just as I thought. My infection's sparked a fever so it's obvious that my body's trying to fight it.

All I can do is stare out into the openness.

"This isn't the way I wanted to die," I mumbled.

"And it won't be," a voice responded to me, soft and sweet.

"Nikki?" my voice cracked as my head lifted up slightly.

"Oh, baby. Are you okay?"

"Not really. I want to go home." Tears started to well up in my eyes.

"You will. Soon."

Without warning, a brilliant light lit up the sky followed by a vicious crash of thunder.

Nikki disappeared.

"Nik? Nikki? Where are you?"

The only answer I received was the sound of the falling rain.

Excellent. I was starting to hallucinate.

Every inch of my body hurt, probably because of the infection. I couldn't move and at this point there was no reason to check on my wound, I knew it was only a matter of time now.

"God, Nik. Why didn't we just say no?"

I started to cry and ended up crying myself to sleep.


	9. Promises Kept

A steady beeping sound began to get my attention and soon became annoying enough for me to open my eyes.

I wasn't prepared for what I was seeing – monitors, tubes, wires…a hospital room. Was I hallucinating again?

"Nora?" a soft voice called out to me as I felt my hand lift from the bed.

"Nikki?"

She started to cry, kissing my hand. "You kept your word."

"What?"

"You told me you wouldn't leave me and you didn't."

I was so confused by all of this. "Where…how?"

"Victor kept calling me, giving me clues. Only, he wanted me to find you…." She cried even harder.

I reached over with my other hand, even though it hurt to do so, and rubbed the side of her face. "It's okay. We're okay."

"I thought for sure I was going to lose you. They lost you once on the way here. I think I might have scared you into coming back to me because I yelled at you pretty loudly." She smiled through the tears and chuckled a bit.

"You scared me….too, you know. When…when you were hit." The pain made it hard for me to get the words out. Everything came out in a whisper.

"I didn't know what to do when he took you. I had no way of chasing after him."

"No more un…undercover stuff for…Feds, deal?"

"Deal."

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking in a slow breath and enjoying her beside me.

"I get to take you home in about a week. Dan's giving us some extended time off, too."

"Mmm, just what I need, more sleep." I smiled at her and took in the sight of her beautiful eyes. Then my eyes floated over to the massive flower arrangement sitting by the door. "Who sent those?"

"Munson, believe it or not."

"Any candy with them?"

"No."

"Then he's still on my shitlist," I said as I smiled and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
